Home Repair

14Apr

Wilson is clearly the handyman between the two of us, but I like to think I’m not completely inept. I’ve been living with my sister, Julie, who had gotten in the habit of hand-washing the dishes. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this; I always do it in Haiti, I used to do it with my grandma as she hummed her favorite hymns, and I’m willing to do it now. But doesn’t it seem a little ridiculous when there is actually a dishwasher in your kitchen?

The bad news is that sometime between moving to Haiti and now, it doesn’t work anymore. The primary problem is that whenever the dishwasher drains, all the water spews from that little vent thing on the corner of the sink (you know what I’m talking about?) all over the kitchen floor. This wouldn’t be as serious if mopping was highly preferred over washing dishes. It clearly needs to be fixed.

The good news is that another nurse at work had a similar problem and after taking apart the entire dishwasher, found out it was just a blockage in the line between the vent thing and the garbage disposal (grandma always called it a grinder). That sounds easy, so I’ll chronicle this little home repair project for you. You know, in case your vent thing spews water all over your linoleum. Or tile for all you fancy people.

Step one: empty the space under the sink. It could get crazy under there and you don’t want to break any vases or soak that roll of paper towels you’re storing.

Step two: survey the situation. Get a good look at what you’re starting with so you’re sure to put everything back in the right place. This is not Mr. Potato Head and you don’t win by making it look silly. See that rubbery black pipe draping down in the middle? That’s the culprit.

Step three: Select the proper tools. I think my brother gave me this tool kit many years ago and it is really useful. You can’t close it without at least 3 things falling out of place and preventing complete closure. But it is really useful. This flathead screwdriver fits perfectly in the metal clampy things holding the rubbery black tube in place.

Step four: Loosen the metal clampy things so you can unhook the rubbery black tube from the grinder and clean ‘er out.

Except all that came out was about a half-cup of foul-smelling water. There was nothing else in there. I checked with my phone light. I even poked the screwdriver around in there to see if I missed something. Nope.

So the dishwasher still doesn’t work and I still procrastinate when the dishes are piling up in the sink (sorry, Julie!). I failed. But it wouldn’t be fair if I only shared my success stories. That’s life, folks.